discovered their mistake long ago! Yet there are pious people in
the world who will neither think nor speak frankly of the subject,
for fear of weakening the motives for human virtue. I will at least
speak frankly, and though I believe with all my heart in a life
beyond the grave, in which suffering enough may exist for the cure
of those who by wilful sin have sunk into sloth and hopelessness
and despair, and even into cruelty and brutality, I do not for an
instant believe that the conduct of the vilest human being who ever
set foot on the earth can deserve more than a term of punishment,
or that such punishment will have anything that is vindictive about
it.

It may be said that I am here only combating an old-fashioned idea,
and that no one believes in the old theory of eternal punishment,
or that if they believe that the possibility exists, they do not
believe that any human being can incur it. But I feel little doubt
that the belief does exist, and that it is more widespread than one
cares to believe. To believe it is to yield to the darkest and
basest temptation of fear, and keeps all who hold it back from the
truth of God.

What then are we to believe about the punishment of our sins? I
look back upon my own life, and I see numberless occasions--they
rise up before me, a long perspective of failures--when I have
acted cruelly, selfishly, self-indulgently, basely, knowing
perfectly well that I was so behaving. What was wrong with me? Why
did I so behave? Because I preferred the baser course, and thought
at the time that it gave me pleasure.

Well then, what do I wish about all that? I wish it had not